A wide variety of vacuum cleaning systems have been developed, including hand held devices for cleaning carpets and the like to central systems having a central container connected through conduits to a number of outlets to which flexible hoses can be connected for vacuum cleaning areas.
One problem with prior central cleaning systems is the need to periodically check the central container to determine whether it has filled to the point where efficiency is significantly reduced and the container must be emptied. Regular checking the container is time consuming and failure to empty the container will reduce efficiency and could damage the system. Further, emptying the container is often difficult and may cause dust and the like to be expelled into the air or spilled. For people allergic to some components of household or industrial dust or where the dust may include otherwise toxic material, this stirring up the collected material can have very adverse consequences.
Barber shops and pet grooming facilities have a particular need for efficient means for collecting hair clippings. Allowing the clippings to accumulate on the floor is unsightly. Frequent sweeping is time consuming and tends to put fine clippings, mites dandruff, etc. back into the air. Many people are allergic to cat and dog dandruff or hair. Further, clippings could carry disease organisms, lice and the like. Therefore, breathing air contaminated with hair clippings, whether human or animal is very undesirable.
Some hair cutting and animal grooming establishments use vacuum cleaners for collecting clippings. Portable units often pass very fine dust back into the air. Central units require regular checking and manual emptying, both of which consume time and cause problems, as mentioned above.
Many barbers, hair stylists and animal groomers now use clippers and the like having a vacuum hose connected to the cutting instrument, so that most if not all clippings are immediately pulled through a conduit to a central vacuum system. These systems substantially prevent clippings dropping into a persons clothing and allergens from entering the air. With these systems, for efficient operation the central collection container must be checked often and not be allowed be overfill. And, the problems of manually emptying the collected material remain.
Therefore, there is a continuing need for improved central vacuum systems, particularly for use by persons cutting human hair or grooming animals, which eliminate the need to constantly check the fill level of the central collection container and the need to manually empty the collection container.